Tommy Mellott visits with NFL Hall of Famers Jan Stenerud (left) and Jerry Rice (right) at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas
Photo by: Brian Morse
Montana State's Tommy Mellott Wins 2024 Walter Payton Award from Stats Perform
1/4/2025 10:35:00 PM | Football
Senior quarterback becomes first Bobcat to claim prestigious national honor
For information on the FCS Championship Game on Monday visit: https://www.montana.edu/frisco/
FRISCO, Texas – Montana State senior quarterback Tommy Mellot made history on Saturday, capturing the Bobcat football program's first Walter Payton Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Offensive Player of the Year Award at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas.
The Walter Payton Award caps a historic week for Mellott. The Butte High product added to his cadre of hardware after capturing Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year and FCS ADA National Offensive Player of the Year honors in recent days, adding to Big Sky Offensive MVP and consensus First Team All-America honors.
"Tommy embodies everything we look for in a football player, in a human being," said Montana State head coach Brent Vigen, who was also honored on Saturday. Stats Perform named Vigen the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year, the first Bobcat coach so honored. "He's obviously deserving, and I'm super proud."
The 6-0, 208 lb senior has helped engineer a 15-0 season for Montana State, which prepares for Monday's FCS Championship game against North Dakota State. Bison quarterback Cam Miller was a narrow runner-up to Mellott for Walter Payton Award honors.
Mellott drew inspiration from a moment born in his team's loss in the 2021 national championship game, when he was injured early in the first quarter and unable to return. "Three yeas ago I was on the sideline injured and our quarterbacks coach at the time, Coach (Taylor) Housewright, told me, 'If you don't become a Walter Payton Award winner we've failed you.' It's a testament to what we've done as a program, and having the opportunity to be out here today and be representing such a great reward and winning it is a great honor. A very humbling moment, and very honored to have it."
After second team all-conference seasons as a sophomore and junior, Mellott grew into the top offensive player in the FCS in 2024. He leads the nation in passing efficiency and points responsible for, while completing 68.8 percent of his passes (190-276, 2,564 yards) with 29 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He's also added 915 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Under Vigen's guidance, Mellott and the Bobcats have made history to this point of the 2024 season. The team's 15 wins is a program record, and the Cats won their first outright Big Sky title since 1984. (MSU shared the 2011 championship with Montana, but UM later vacated two wins due to NCAA rules violations to leave the Cats in sole possession of the crown.)
Mellott lauded the guidance he's received from Vigen. "It's been a blessing to work with him," he said. "He is brilliant when it comes to everything about football, but I think one thing that might go unnoticed at times is the emotional part and the mental part to it. He bought into who I was, knew I'd be a work in progress, and that's what I was, but he stayed committed to me and continued to work with me and ultimately got me to a place where we have the opportunity to do something really special on Monday. Tonight was a special opportunity to honor what he's done for me, as well."
His status as MSU's first national offensive player of the year is something Mellott hasn't yet internalized. "It's surreal," he said. "There's been so many greats that have come before me. It's certainly an honor to be put in the category of those different athletes and to be the first one to be named that at Montana State is a great honor."
Still, Mellott said his award is reflects on the offense and team as a whole. "We can talk about all the different things that I might do but the biggest thing is what our offense has done. From the schematic part of the game with Coach (Tyler) Walker and Coach Vigen, the strategy involved in all of that has put me in a great position, and the guys around me have ultimately put me in a great position to be as successful as I have."
MSU's FCS title game appearance begins at 5 pm MT on Monday. The game airs nationally on ESPN, throughout Montana on the Bobcat Radio Network, and streams on the Varsity app.
2024 Walter Payton Award Voting
Following is a breakdown of the voting results from Stats Perform. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. Tommy Mellott, QB, Montana State: 16-12-3-4-2-147
2. Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State: 14-8-8-2-1-131
3. Targhee Lambson, RB, Southern Utah: 5-9-11-7-7-115
4. Zach Calzada, QB, UIW: 5-4-5-4-7-71
5. Lan Larison, RB, UC Davis: 5-4-5-4-2-66
6. Derek Robertson, QB, Monmouth: 2-4-5-6-8-61
7. Miles Hastings, QB, UC Davis: 3-4-3-5-2-52
8. Kayvon Britten, RB, Tarleton State: 1-2-1-5-7-33
9. Efton Chism III, WR, Eastern Washington: 1-1-1-6-6-30
10. Mark Gronowski, QB, South Dakota State: 2-1-2-1-0-22
11. Maverick McIvor, QB, Abilene Christian: 0-2-2-2-1-19
12. Paxton DeLaurent, QB, Southeast Missouri: 0-1-2-3-1-17
13. Eric Phoenix, QB, South Carolina State: 1-1-1-0-1-13
14. Jacob Clark, QB, Missouri State: 1-0-2-0-1-12
15. ShunDerrick Powell, RB, Central Arkansas: 0-1-1-1-0-9
16. Dwayne McGee, RB, Mercer: 0-0-1-2-1-8
17. J'Mari Taylor, RB, North Carolina Central: 0-0-1-2-0-7
18. Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary: 0-1-0-0-2-6
19. Ralph Rucker IV, QB, Bucknell: 0-0-1-1-0-5
T20. Daniel Richardson, QB, Florida A&M: 0-1-0-0-0-4
T20. Jalen Walthall, WR, UIW: 0-0-0-0-4-4
22. Irv Mulligan, RB, Jackson State: 0-0-1-0-0-3
23. Elijah Howard, RB, Central Connecticut State: 0-0-0-1-0-2
T24. Hope Adebayo, RB, St. Thomas: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T24. Jamar Curtis, RB, Lafayette: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T24. Cole Gonzales, QB, Western Carolina: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T27. Mari Adams, RB, Davidson: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jeff Caldwell, WR, Lindenwood: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jaden Craig, QB, Harvard: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jermaine Corbett, RB, Merrimack: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Roland Dempster, RB, Stony Brook: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Malachi Hosley, RB, Penn: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Antonio Martin Jr., RB, Southeastern Louisiana: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Sam Vidlak, QB, Stephen F. Austin: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jameson Wang, QB, Cornell: 0-0-0-0-0-0
FRISCO, Texas – Montana State senior quarterback Tommy Mellot made history on Saturday, capturing the Bobcat football program's first Walter Payton Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Offensive Player of the Year Award at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas.
The Walter Payton Award caps a historic week for Mellott. The Butte High product added to his cadre of hardware after capturing Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year and FCS ADA National Offensive Player of the Year honors in recent days, adding to Big Sky Offensive MVP and consensus First Team All-America honors.
"Tommy embodies everything we look for in a football player, in a human being," said Montana State head coach Brent Vigen, who was also honored on Saturday. Stats Perform named Vigen the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year, the first Bobcat coach so honored. "He's obviously deserving, and I'm super proud."
The 6-0, 208 lb senior has helped engineer a 15-0 season for Montana State, which prepares for Monday's FCS Championship game against North Dakota State. Bison quarterback Cam Miller was a narrow runner-up to Mellott for Walter Payton Award honors.
Mellott drew inspiration from a moment born in his team's loss in the 2021 national championship game, when he was injured early in the first quarter and unable to return. "Three yeas ago I was on the sideline injured and our quarterbacks coach at the time, Coach (Taylor) Housewright, told me, 'If you don't become a Walter Payton Award winner we've failed you.' It's a testament to what we've done as a program, and having the opportunity to be out here today and be representing such a great reward and winning it is a great honor. A very humbling moment, and very honored to have it."
After second team all-conference seasons as a sophomore and junior, Mellott grew into the top offensive player in the FCS in 2024. He leads the nation in passing efficiency and points responsible for, while completing 68.8 percent of his passes (190-276, 2,564 yards) with 29 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He's also added 915 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Under Vigen's guidance, Mellott and the Bobcats have made history to this point of the 2024 season. The team's 15 wins is a program record, and the Cats won their first outright Big Sky title since 1984. (MSU shared the 2011 championship with Montana, but UM later vacated two wins due to NCAA rules violations to leave the Cats in sole possession of the crown.)
Mellott lauded the guidance he's received from Vigen. "It's been a blessing to work with him," he said. "He is brilliant when it comes to everything about football, but I think one thing that might go unnoticed at times is the emotional part and the mental part to it. He bought into who I was, knew I'd be a work in progress, and that's what I was, but he stayed committed to me and continued to work with me and ultimately got me to a place where we have the opportunity to do something really special on Monday. Tonight was a special opportunity to honor what he's done for me, as well."
His status as MSU's first national offensive player of the year is something Mellott hasn't yet internalized. "It's surreal," he said. "There's been so many greats that have come before me. It's certainly an honor to be put in the category of those different athletes and to be the first one to be named that at Montana State is a great honor."
Still, Mellott said his award is reflects on the offense and team as a whole. "We can talk about all the different things that I might do but the biggest thing is what our offense has done. From the schematic part of the game with Coach (Tyler) Walker and Coach Vigen, the strategy involved in all of that has put me in a great position, and the guys around me have ultimately put me in a great position to be as successful as I have."
MSU's FCS title game appearance begins at 5 pm MT on Monday. The game airs nationally on ESPN, throughout Montana on the Bobcat Radio Network, and streams on the Varsity app.
2024 Walter Payton Award Voting
Following is a breakdown of the voting results from Stats Perform. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. Tommy Mellott, QB, Montana State: 16-12-3-4-2-147
2. Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State: 14-8-8-2-1-131
3. Targhee Lambson, RB, Southern Utah: 5-9-11-7-7-115
4. Zach Calzada, QB, UIW: 5-4-5-4-7-71
5. Lan Larison, RB, UC Davis: 5-4-5-4-2-66
6. Derek Robertson, QB, Monmouth: 2-4-5-6-8-61
7. Miles Hastings, QB, UC Davis: 3-4-3-5-2-52
8. Kayvon Britten, RB, Tarleton State: 1-2-1-5-7-33
9. Efton Chism III, WR, Eastern Washington: 1-1-1-6-6-30
10. Mark Gronowski, QB, South Dakota State: 2-1-2-1-0-22
11. Maverick McIvor, QB, Abilene Christian: 0-2-2-2-1-19
12. Paxton DeLaurent, QB, Southeast Missouri: 0-1-2-3-1-17
13. Eric Phoenix, QB, South Carolina State: 1-1-1-0-1-13
14. Jacob Clark, QB, Missouri State: 1-0-2-0-1-12
15. ShunDerrick Powell, RB, Central Arkansas: 0-1-1-1-0-9
16. Dwayne McGee, RB, Mercer: 0-0-1-2-1-8
17. J'Mari Taylor, RB, North Carolina Central: 0-0-1-2-0-7
18. Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary: 0-1-0-0-2-6
19. Ralph Rucker IV, QB, Bucknell: 0-0-1-1-0-5
T20. Daniel Richardson, QB, Florida A&M: 0-1-0-0-0-4
T20. Jalen Walthall, WR, UIW: 0-0-0-0-4-4
22. Irv Mulligan, RB, Jackson State: 0-0-1-0-0-3
23. Elijah Howard, RB, Central Connecticut State: 0-0-0-1-0-2
T24. Hope Adebayo, RB, St. Thomas: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T24. Jamar Curtis, RB, Lafayette: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T24. Cole Gonzales, QB, Western Carolina: 0-0-0-0-1-1
T27. Mari Adams, RB, Davidson: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jeff Caldwell, WR, Lindenwood: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jaden Craig, QB, Harvard: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jermaine Corbett, RB, Merrimack: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Roland Dempster, RB, Stony Brook: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Malachi Hosley, RB, Penn: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Antonio Martin Jr., RB, Southeastern Louisiana: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Sam Vidlak, QB, Stephen F. Austin: 0-0-0-0-0-0
T27. Jameson Wang, QB, Cornell: 0-0-0-0-0-0
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